Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Bigby was one of three players who failed a physical examination Friday. Bigby, cornerback Al Harris and rookie running back James Starks will begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list.

“I’m concerned,” McCarthy told reporters in Green Bay on Friday. “Everybody’s concerned. I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to Atari. He’s had the ankle injury, and that’s something that’s bothered him in the past. Hopefully we can get the answer for that and he can get out there and get ready to go.”

Harris is recovering from a season-ending left knee injury in November; McCarthy is encouraged by his progress and said he could be ready for the regular season opener. Starks continues to have problems with his hamstring.

Bigby, a restricted free agent, did not sign his tender offer right away and spent the offseason away from the team. McCarthy confirmed Bigby reported to camp with the rest of the team Friday, but his ankle — an injury that has bothered him in the past — flared up during a conditioning test.

“There was communication with Atari, but we all know what his business situation was,” McCarthy said. “This is really the first opportunity our doctors have had a chance to examine him.”

Now it’s an opportunity for rookie safety Morgan Burnett, a third-round draft pick out of Georgia Tech. Burnett has impressed coaches with his intelligence and work ethic — but now the pads go on.

“That’s what training camp’s for,” McCarthy said. “I really like what the young man has done.”

The situation at safety is one of several challenges McCarthy will have to navigate beginning with the Packers’ first training camp practice today.

McCarthy knows expectations are high and acknowledges this might be the best team he has had on paper.

“There’s nothing new this year,” McCarthy said. “We’re not putting in a new defense, we don’t have a new quarterback, we don’t have a new special-teams coach. We have an opportunity to build off some continuity and some success in the past.”

First-round draft pick Bryan Bulaga, who signed a contract Friday, is expected to learn the left tackle position behind Chad Clifton.

As you comment, please be respectful of other commenters and other viewpoints. Our goal with article comments is to provide a space for civil, informative and constructive conversations. We reserve the right to remove any comment we deem to be defamatory, rude, insulting to others, hateful, off-topic or reckless to the community. See our full terms of use here.

If Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr has his way, he will be back on the field for this week's game against the Green Bay Packers. He says he was "pretty close" to playing in Sunday's 25-20 loss to the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, but he ultimately was kept out of his third consecutive game because of a lingering right hamstring injury....

Matt Dumba was disinterested in speaking to reporters after Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the first time that the Wild have lost back-to-back games in regulation this season. "I don't know," Dumba said. "It's frustrating." That much was palpable throughout the 68-second interview as Dumba opted for a handful of clipped answers before retreating to the showers. “They are...

CHICAGO -- Poised to move into first place in the tightly contested NFC North, the Vikings now find themselves a game and a half behind the Bears following Sunday night’s 25-20 loss to Chicago at Soldier Field. The Bears (7-3) put themselves in the driver’s seat for the division title, while the Vikings now face the immediate task of staying...

NEW YORK — Career saves leader Mariano Rivera and late pitcher Roy Halladay are among 20 new candidates on the Hall of Fame ballot for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, joined by 15 holdovers headed by Edgar Martinez. Left-hander Andy Pettitte and infielders Todd Helton, Michael Young and Miguel Tejada also are among the newcomers on the ballot announced...

When Gophers backup center Matz Stockman split two Texas A&M defenders for a powerful dunk in Minnesota’s 69-64 victory over the Aggies on Sunday night in the Vancouver Showcase, it was something his teammates had seen before. But only a few times. When the 7-foot senior from Oslo, Norway, dunked during a Gophers practice last week, well, that did catch...